Exec departures mark company transitions

Dec 17, 2007 6:59am

A number of telecom industry executives left old jobs and found new ones, but four executive departures in particular caught our attention:

Okay, maybe Qwest hasn't been around that long, but the departure of Dick Notebaert and the subsequent hiring of Edward Mueller as CEO could be major turning point. Qwest already had battled back pretty well from near bankruptcy, but still was criticized for lagging TV and wireless strategies. Early indications are Mueller won't change much, but how long will that attitude last?

Gary Forsee left Sprint Nextel under intense pressure. A new leader hasn't surfaced yet, but there are no lack of hypothetical candidates. Yet, regardless of who takes the helm, how do you right a ship sailing in two different directions at the same time?

Motorola chief Ed Zander also announced his departure under intense investor pressure (Greg Brown takes his place Jan. 1). Though Motorola made several acquisitions under his leadership that diversified the company, he couldn't get out from under the RAZR's long shadow. Can Brown do any better?

Tellabs CEO Krish Prabhu also announced he will be leaving his company next year. While some vendors got much larger (and had their own problems to show for it)Tellabs has been stuck at mid-tier vendor status. There were rumors the company would get acquired, but nothing came to fruition. Prabhu's successor will have to figure out if Tellabs still has a place of its own in a consolidated industry.

For more:- Tellabs accepted Prabhu's resignation last month- Zander announced just weeks ago he is leaving Motorola- Forsee left Sprint Nextel in October- Mueller made some happy by announcing a dividend last week